Further Precautions to Protect the Public and County Employees are Needed
Kingston, NY (November 08, 2018) –In the wake of yet another tragic act of violence, Comptroller Elliott Auerbach continues his four-year effort to provide stronger building-wide safety measures for the nearly two hundred people who work,andmanymore who transact business at the County Office Building on 244 Fair Street in Kingston. The building provides a myriad of services to thousands of taxpayers including Motor Vehicle, Surrogate’s Court, Real Property Tax Services, the County Clerk, the Planning Department and the Legislative Offices.
Since 2014 Auerbach has on five different occasions called upon the County Executive and Chairman of the Legislature to address the wellbeing of both staff and the public by implementing reasonable and acceptable security protocols that could include:
- Separate entrances for staff and the general public.
- Installation of magnetometers (metal detectors) at the entrance.
- Visitor sign-in prior to accessing elevators to identify guests, their purpose and ultimate destination.
- Requiring all employees to display their county ID.
- Installing cameras in all stairwells.
The Comptroller noted the marginal security effort, includingaddedcameras,that were being made and highlighted that a few offices, including the County Executive’s and County Legislature, have been provided electronic, remote released lockout devices. “There are several offices that enjoy this additional protection, but the entire building’s security needs to be considered,”Auerbach stated.Auerbach noted in his most recent effort that the County Executive will be participating in a facility security and safety awareness event this evening at the Kingston Center of SUNY Ulster, and has enlisted his support while urging him to “heighten his concern in the effort to offer further protection against a tragedy.”“Let’s not allow Ulster County to be the next victim simply because adequate precautions were only in place for a chosen few when we could have employed stronger building-wide security measures for all,”said the Comptroller.
